Eight months ago, twelve-year-old Nico and his mother Mira, ethnic Albanians, mysteriously disappeared, abandoning the car they had been living in. Now, the boy—confused, mute, but well-fed and cared for—has been found by hunting dogs. The fate of his mother remains unknown.

Normally, courts do not consider testimony obtained under hypnosis, but it seems to be the only way to get the boy to speak. Pietro Gerber takes on the case—and realizes that there’s little time to save the child. Because the voice of the boy, now suspected of murdering his own mother, is telling a story that is not his own..